If you have a business in Athens, you're going to get asked to play in charity golf tournaments. If you have a decent golfer in your office, you'll find that you start getting asked to play about every week, especially in the Fall. We happen to have a two handicapper at our office, so of course, everyone in town suddenly wants your office (or more specifically, your ringer) to join their team for a fund raiser.
While there is some truth to the old adage that "a bad day on the golf course beats a good day at the office every time," I will add this axiom: A business day on the golf course makes for long nights and early mornings for those in the client service business. And whether you're in the office or not, you might wind up spending what should be a relaxing day on the course on your cell phone instead dealing with pressing issues.
So when I got an e-mail today announcing the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce's "Non-Tournament" Tournament fund raiser, I had to laugh. It's a great idea -- get the sponsors, have the party, do the socializing, but let everyone get some work done that day anyway. Here's what Chamber President Doc Eldridge had to say:
"A funny thing developed as people began to respond. The majority of you said they they were happy to do a tee sponsorship for $100, but PLEASE, don't ask me or my staff to take another day off from work and play in yet another golf tournament. There are at least 8 other tournaments within the next few weeks, and you like the rest of us have gotten worn out on spring and fall golf tournaments."
Kudos to Doc Eldridge for some creative thinking. Perhaps we could have a Golden Tee Machine brought in for the party and have have some Wii Golf for a mini-tournament anyway (video below). Chamber Press Release follows.
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This year golfers and businesses participating in the Chamber’s final fund raising event of the year won’t have to worry about Tee-times. Businesses won’t spend time figuring out who will be manning the store and who will be representing the company on the golf course. Players won’t be scrambling at the last minute to arrange a fourth, and nobody will be up all night finagling how to fit one more event-- and another golf tournament-- into an already typical and event filled season known as Fall in Athens.
There are even more benefits of the tournament this year: No worry about the weather. No worry about missed work. Even no worry about fudging on a handicap. In fact, no tournament. Just a celebratory scoring party for a job well done.
This year’s 4th Annual Paul Miller Classic Golf Tournament will be a NON Tournament.
The day promises to have all the trappings of a major tournament, complete with tee sponsors, which keep coming in, says Chamber President and CEO Doc Eldridge. Members can end a productive day at work with a Scoring Party held in the Chamber’s comfortable and all-weather board room with drinks and hors d’œuvres to celebrate a productive day.
The event was started four years ago as a tribute to Paul Miller, the Chamber’s economic development director for some 20 years. “Paul brought business people together to plan how to make Athens a better place to live,” says Eldridge. “The tournament was begun to bring people together for a time of sport, fellowship and dreams for the future of the Athens area. We are continuing that tradition on Tuesday, October 7 with the Paul Miller Classic Golf Non Tournament. Instead of a day on the golf course, we’ll have the opportunity after work, traditionally the time when those manning the office joined the golfers.” All sponsors, says Eldridge, will be included in the scoring party.
There are other benefits as well. “With the virtual golf tournament, tee sponsors multiply exposure potentials. “Typically, the tee signs only reach the players, roughly 70 to 80,” says Eldridge, who adds that the players often are more interested in their game than the signs that decorate the course. “By having a non tournament tournament, we are increasing exposure to nearly 160,000 by combining the circulation of the Sunday page and e-mails to our many members in the coming weeks,” says Eldridge.
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